Arraignment continued in deadly child abuse case.

Once again, the shackled defendants charged in the murder of two children and the torture of a girl made a court appearance in a room dotted with news reporters. And again, the couple did not enter pleas.

The arraignment in the grisly case against Tami Huntsman, 39, and her reputed 17-year-old boyfriend, Gonzalo Curiel, was continued to next Wednesday, as Huntsman continues to seek counsel.

“These are more difficult cases to handle,” says attorney Frank Dice with the Alternate Defender's Office. “With all the publicity on this case, not every lawyer feels confident enough to handle a case like this.”

Curiel has retained defense attorney Jeremy Dzubay, who recently represented Christian DeAnda in a high-profile child abuse, torture case. DeAnda was convicted in May 2015 of chaining and starving a 10-year-old girl under her care.

Huntsman and Curiel are accused in the ongoing physical abuse that led to the deaths of Delylah and Shaun Tara, ages 3 and 6, respectively. Their mother died and their father turned over their care to Hunstman, whose been described as either their aunt or cousin.

The children's bodies were found stuffed inside a plastic container in a storage unit in Redding early last month. Officials believe they were murdered in Huntsman's East Salinas home.

The ADO is working on finding Huntsman representation after the Monterey County Public Defender’s Office filed a conflict of interest in the Huntsman case. The reason for the conflict of interest is confidential, says Public Defender James Egar.

At the moment,Huntsman’s case is considered a death penalty case. That could make it harder for her to find counsel as there are certain qualifications an attorney needs to take up a capital case. The ADO office has six lawyers under contract, Dzubay is one of them.

Huntsman and Curiel will return to court on Jan. 27 and are expected to enter a plea, if Huntsman finds an attorney.